Machines for folding the edge of flexible materials,more particularly footwear insoles and the like



Dec. 16, 1969 BOCCA ETAL 3,483,579

MACHINES FOR FOLDING THE EDGE OF FLEXIBLE MATERIALS, MORE PARTICULARLYFOOTWEAR Filed March a, 1968 INSOLES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Shem 1 Dec.16, 1969 occA EI'AL MACHINES FOR FOLDING THE EDGE OF FLEXIBLE MATERIALSMORE PARTICULARLY FOOTWEAR INSOLES AND THE LIKE 4 Sheets-Sheet FiledMarch 8, 1968 Dec. 16, 1969 A. BOCCA TA!- MACHINES FOR FOLDING THE EDGEOF FLEXIBLE MATERIALS, MORE PARTICULARLY FOOTWEAR INSOLES AND THE LIKE 4Sheets-Sheet Filed March 8, 1968 4m mm Eec. 16, 1969 BOCCA ETAL3,483,579

MACHINES FOR FOLDING THE EDGE OF FLEXIBLE MATERIALS MORE PARTICULARLYFOOTWEAR INSOLES AND THE LIKE Filed Ma ch 8, 1968 4 ShGEtS-Sheex L I W 4A950 United States Patent 3,483,579 MACHHNES FER FOLDING THE EDGE OFFLEXIBLE MATERIALS, MGRE PARTICU- LARLY FGUTWEAR TNSOLES AND THE TAKEAlberto Bocca, Via S. Maria 23, and Mario Pagani, Via Pergolesi 22, bothof Vigevano, Italy Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 711,635 Claims priority,application Italy, Mar. 9, 1967, 13,529/67 lot. Cl. A43d 43/06 US. Cl.12-245 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for completing thefolding of an edge of a flexible material in sheet form, moreparticularly insoles of footwear articles in which a mechanical member,receiving a reciprocal drive from the motive means of an edgefoldingmachine, is moved perpendicularly to the direction of feed of the insolestock: a rocking arm arrangement is further provided for preventingdamages to the already folded edge by lifting the mechanical membertherefrom, the operation of said rocker mechanism being properly attunedto that of the folding mechanism proper.

This invention relates to a machine for processing the edge of amaterial which is in the form of a flexible sheet or slab and is moreparticularly concerned with folding the edge of footwear insoles.

It is known that, for folding the edges of a flexible material, moreparticularly insoles of footwear or leather articles in general, themachines which are used at present comprise a working plane on which thematerial to be processed is caused to slide. Said working plane has anabutment the upper face of which is shaped with a suitable curvaturewith the concave surface directed upwards. The material to be processedpasses over said concave surface and thus receives a first upward andinner curvature constituting a first fold, whereupon, with the possibleaddition of an adhesive, the folding of said edge is completed by ahammer-like mechanical member.

A shortcoming frequently experienced with these machines, is that, dueto a certain inherent stiffness of the material, the curvature initiallyimparted thereto by said abutment is insufiicient as the material beingprocessed is passed under the action of said hammer-like member, thelatter sometimes acting in a direction which is perpendicular to theedge of the material being processed. As a result, a portion of the edgebeing processed may become insufficiently folded, or, in a few extremeinstances, even straightened again, with the ensuing consequences, whichare objectionable both from a practical and aesthetical standpoint,especially in the case of footwear insoles and leather articles.

This invention obviates the above indicated shortcoming by a device tobe associated to a machine for folding the edges of a flexible material,said device comprising a mechanical member driven in reciprocation bythe motor means of the machine, said mechanical member carrying out saidreciprocal motion perpendicularly to the direction of advance of saidmaterial being processed and to the edge of said material, so as tocontinue the folding of the edge and to complete it.

An advantage of the device of the invention is that said mechanicalfolding member is active concurrently with said abutment and cannot giverise to a fold in a different direction or leave unfolded workpieces.

A further advantage resides in the provision of a pivotal rocker armarrangement which supports said mechanical folding member so as to liftthe same from the 3,483,579 Patented Dec. 16, 1969 folded edge so as toprevent damage to the folded edge during the return stroke of saidmember.

Another advantage of the device according to the inventic-n lies in thecompactness and simplicity of the component parts thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a machine forfolding the edges of a flexible material according to the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a detail cross-sectional view of the subject device,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. 2, showing the folding member inanother position.

Referring to the drawings, the machine Ill for folding the edges of aflexible material comprises a bedplate 11, beneath which the motive anddriving means (not shown) of the machine 14 are positioned. From thebedplate 11 a framing 12 extends, which contains the several mechanismsof the machine 10, of conventional design and not shown in the drawingsto avoid confusion. To the framing 12 is afiixed an overhanging header13, which projects over a working plane 14. On the latter plane, theworkpiece or material to be processed is caused to advance,perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing, said material comprising,an illustrated, a thick layer, indicated at 45,

- and a thin layer 15 having protruding ends adapted to be folded overthick layer 45 as shown in FIG. 4.

From the overhangin header 13, a presser foot 16 projects downwardlytowards the working plane 14, said presser foot engaging said thicklayer 45 and being affixed to one end of a lever 17 pivoted at 18 toheader 13. At the opposite end of the lever 18', a pivot 19 is rigidlyatfixed, which is housed in a slot 20 formed through the end of a lever21 pivoted at 22.

The opposite end 24 of lever 21 is vertically slidable within a slot 23,formed in a fixed portion of the framing. Appropriate means, not shown,is provided for displacing end 24 within the slot 23. As a result, onaccount of the mechanical connection between the levers 21 and 17, thepresser foot 16 is caused to engage and disengage the material 15 beingprocessed. Connected to the lever 17 is a spring (not shown), which isintended to urge the presser foot 16 against the material beingprocessed.

On the working plane 14 an abutment 25 is mounted, which has a curvedrecess with a surface which is concave upwards and on which the layer 15being processed is caused to pass, so that the edge 26 thereof may befolded. Rearward of the abutment 25 is mounted a member or bar 27, theright end of which (as viewed in FIG. 1) has a rounded tip and the bar27 is pivotally connected at its other end, as shown at 28, to avertical rod 29, the members 28 and 29 being perpendicular to oneanother. To maintain the bar 27 in the desired position, that ishorizontal, a spring 30 is provided, which is affixed at one end to thebar 27 and, at the other end, to a tensioning spring device 39. Thelatter, in turn, is rigidly fastened to the vertical rod 29 by means ofa set screw 31.

The rod 29, by the agency of the set screw 31 or other equivalentconventional mounting means, is rigidly connected with an actuating bar32, whose opposite end is seated in a cavity 33 which houses acompression spring 34. To the rod 32 is solidly afiixed a block 35formed by two half shells 4-0 and 41 afiixed to one another by a setscrew 42 whose head protrudes from the working plane 14 and is slidablyhoused in an appropriate groove 43 formed in a cover plate 44. To thehalf-shell 41 is affixed 3 a wheel of ball bearing 36. The latter iskept pressed by the spring 34 against a cylindrical cam 37, havingvariable circumferential thicknesses, keyed to the mainshaft 38 of themachine 10.

The cavity 33 is formed in the framing 12. The rod 27, approximatelymidway of its length, rests against an end 46 of a rocker arm 47,mounted in such a way as to rotate in a vertical plane by means of ascrewed pin 48 whose opposite end carries a tooth 49, adapted to comeinto engagement with a corresponding tooth 50 of a clamp 51. The clamp51 is pivotally mounted at 52 so as to rock in a vertical plane which isperpendicular to the plane of oscillation of the rocker 47. Theworkpiece is caused to advance by the action of a hammer (not shown)which completes the folding of the edge 26 while simultaneously causingthe workpiece to advance.

The operation of the machine is as follows.

Due to the engagement of the cam 37 with the ball bearing 36, the rod32, urged by the spring 34, is driven in reciprocation and thisreciprocal motion is transferred through the rigid vertical rod 29 tothe bar 27: consequently, the latter is shifted to the right incorrespondence with the engagement of the bearing 36 with the portion ofthe cam 37 which has a lower axial thickness.

As a result, the bar 27 engages the edge 26 so as to fold it in thedirection defined by the recessed surface of the abutment 25. As the rod27 reaches its right dead center as viewed in FIG. 4, the clamp 51 isrotated so as to cause its tooth 50 to engage the tooth 49 of the rockerarm 47 and rotate the pivot 48 so that the end 46 urges the bar 27upwardly against the bias of the recoil spring 30 (see FIG. 4). Theleftward return stroke of the bar 27 thus takes place without said barsliding on the already folded edge and no damage can be consequentlymade thereto. As the bar 27 reaches its left deade center as viewed inFIG, 2, the clamp 51 disengages the tooth 49 of the rocker arm 47 sothat the latter is restored to its normal position (as shown in FIG. 2)under the bias of the spring 30 exerted on the bar 27. Meanwhile, theabove mentioned hammer causes another workpiece to be advanced incorrespondence with the position of the bar 27 and so forth.

It is clear that the frequency and the amplitude of the reciprocalmotion of the bearing 36 and the bar 27 will be a function of theconfiguration of the cylindrical cam 37, that is, of the different axialthicknesses thereof along its circumference. It will thus be clear thatthe bar 27 acts on the edge 26 of the layer 15, already folded in part,so as to continue the folding in the same direction as before andcompleting the folding.

The invention has been disclosed with reference to a preferredembodiment thereof, it being nevertheless understood that a number ofequivalent mechanical modifications are possible within the scope ofthis invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for folding the edge of flexible sheet material, saidmachine comprising a planar working surface on which the sheet materialis advanced in a given direction, an upstanding abutment on said surfacepositioned in the path of travel of said sheet material, said abutmenthaving a recess with a surface which is concave upwards and on which anedge of the sheet material passes so as to initiate folding of said edgeonto itself,'a presser foot which is periodically activated to hold thematerial against said working surface and said abutment, a folder memberadjacent the path of travel of said sheet material, and means forreciprocally moving the folder member in a plane perpendicular to thedirection of travel of the material and in a direction generallyparallel to said working surface towards and away from said materialsuch that the folder member engages the partially folded edge of saidmaterial to complete the folding thereof and thereafter is retracted.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 comprising means for lifting thefolder member as it is retracted so that the folder member is raisedabove the folded material as it travels away therefrom.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said folder member is a barhaving a rounded surface facing said material, said means forreciprocally moving the folder member comprising a rod supported fordisplacement in the direction of reciprocation of said bar and rigidlycou pled thereto, and means including a rotatable cylindrical cam actingon said rod to reciprocate the same and the bar therewith.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said cam has acircumferential portion with different axial thicknesses engaging saidrod to reciprocate the latter as the cam rotates, the difference in theaxial thicknesses defining the amplitude and frequency of the reciprocalmotion.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein said means acting on the rodcomprises a spring urging the rod into engagement with said cam.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 5, wherein said rod includes a bearingwhich engages said circumferential portion of the cam.

7, A machine as claimed in claim 4, comprising a pivotal rocker armengaging said folder member to lift the latter from the folded materialas the folder member begins its movement away from said material.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said machine has a maindrive shaft coupled to said means which reciprocally moves the foldermember to drive such means.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,925,205 9/1933 Ridderstrom12-55 2,849,734 9/1958 McGahan 1255 2,979,745 4/ 1961 Schaefer et al1255 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1255

